Attachment for beds, chairs, and the like



Jan. 22 1924.

S. E. STICKLE ATTACHMENT FOR BEDS CHAIRS, AND THE LIKE jgiled D60.

27; 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet I WITNESSES ATIOR/VEYS Jan. 22 1924.

s. E'. STICKLE ATTACHMENT FOR BEDS, CHAIRS, AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 27, 3.922

WITNESSES Patented Jan. 22, 1924.

SAMUEL EDDWARD STICKLE, OF FORT ROCK, OREGON.

ATTACHMENT FOR BEDS, CHAIRS, AND THE LIKE.

Application filed December 27, 1922. Serial No. 609,259.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL E. STIGKLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fort Rock, in the county of Lake and State of Oregon, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Attachments for Beds, Chairs, and the like, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an attachment for beds, chairs and the like which affords facilities for raising or lowering a swingingly supported section of a bed or chair, and it consists in the constructions, combinations and arrangements hereinafter described and claimed. 7

An object of my invention is to provide an attachment of the character described which is extremely simple in construction and which is adapted to be conveniently operated when in applied position to raise or lower a swingingly supported section of a bed or chair so that a person resting upon the bed or chair may be supported in a recumbent or reclining position, as desired.

A further object of my invention is to provide an attachment of the character described which embodies means for releasably holding the swingingly supported section in any position to which moved.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application in which- V Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a bed equipped with a practical embodiment of the invention,

Figure 2 is a relatively enlarged section along the line 2-2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is aperspective group viewshowing certain elements of a transmission mechanism comprised in the device together with means for supporting such elements upon a fixed support, and

Figure 4: is a sidepelevation of a chair equipped with the invention. 7 p 7 Referring now to. the drawings, and particularly to Figure 1, I show a bed which may be of any suitable or preferred known construction and which includes a frame 1 having parallel spaced apart horizontal side members 2-2. A frame 3 which may be a spring of conventional construction rests upon the bed frame 1 and supports a mattress 4, as is usual. The mattress supporting frame 3 includes a head section 5 hingedly attached to the body or major portlon of the mattress supporting frame as at 6 for swinging movement about an axis.

extending horizontally and also transversely of the bed frame. 'The head section 5 serves to support the back and head of a person lying upon the bed and may be raised or lowered by means to be hereinafter described to adjust the angular relation thereof to the plane of the major portion of the bed and to thus support a person resting upon the bed in a reclining or recumbent'position without causing any discomfort or fatigue to such person. The body or major portion of the mattress supporting frame may be provided with rollers 7 at the end thereof proximate to the head section 5, which rollers rest upon inwardly extending hori- 'zontal fianges of the side members 2-2 and serve to distribute the weight of the swinging head section throughout the body or or portion of the mattress supportingframe when the head section has been raised. The rollers 7 also serve to space the mattres supporting frame from the bed frame 2 at the juncture of the body and head sections of the former so that no frictional contact will ensue between the head section and the bed frame 2 when the former is swung upwardly.

The embodiment of the invention shown includes a holder or bracket element designated generally at 8 and best seen in Figure 3, which holder or bracket element comprises a flat plate portion 9 provided with openings 10 through which bolts or rivets may be projected to secure the holder in superimposed position upon one of the side members 2 of the bed frame. By referring to Figure 1, it will be noted that two of the holders 8 are employed and that these holders are secured upon the side frame members 2'2 in transverse alinement and adjacent to the head end of the bed. Each of the holders has a pair of upstanding flanges V non-circular in cross sectional contour, as indicated at 1 1- to engage with a correspond,

ingly configured bore of a worm 15 so that the latter willbe supported between the upstanding flanges or lugs 11-11 of each holder and is held against rotation independently of the shaft 13. The shaft 13 extends beyond. the remote flanges 1111 of the two holders and the extreme end portionsthereof are preferably non-circular in contour as indicated at 16 for engagement with correspondingly formed boresof a pulley 17 and the hub 18 of a crank 19 which are placed in the order named upon the extreme end portion 16 of t is shaft 13. Since the bearings 12 of theholders 8 have removable cap sections, the shaft 13 with a worm 15, a pulley 17 and a crank 19 mounted thereon adjacent to each end thereof may be readily mounted for rotation on the holders 8 when the latter have been attached to the side frame members 2-2 or may be removed from such holders for replacement or jrepair of any parts t ereof, 'or for any other purpose.

he base plate portion of the holder 8 recessed at 20 to provide clearance for the peripheral portion of the worm 15 supported thereon. The recess 20 extends between the upstanding fianges or lugs 11-11 of the holder and terminates at its other end short of the end of the base plate remote from such upstanding flanges or lugs, leaving a relatively thick end portion of the base which is indicated at 21. The end portion 21 has an integral vertical stud 22 upstanding from the central portion thereof. A vertical guide slot 23 extending through the end portion 21 extends diametrically through the upstanding stud 22. A curved rack bar 24 extends slidably through the guide slot 23 and is rigidly attached at its upper end to the head section 5 at one side and adjacent to the head end of'the latter, as-indicated at 25 in Figure 1. worm gear 26 is loosely mounted upon each of the upstanding studs 22 sothat'teeth 27 in its outer periphery will engage with'thethrea-ds on the worm 15 supported 'upon the holder while threads 28 in its inner periphery will engage witli teeth 29 in th'eoute'r or convexly curved face of one of the rack bars 24. it will be understood that the said r'ackbar 24 extends through the bore of one of the worm gears 26 and the latter encircles the upstanding stud 22 through which the rack bar slidably extends.

lVith the arrangement described, rotation of the shaft 13 will cause likeniovement of the worms 15' on the shaft and disposed at the opposite sides of the bedfram'ef Each of the worms '15 engages one of the Worm gears 26 which inturn engages one of the rack bars 24 so that rotation of the shaft 13 one "direction" will- 'occasion" bodily move reversal in the direction of rotation of the shaft 13 will cause a like reversal in the direction of bodily-movement of the rack bar. As a result, the head section 5 of the mattress support will be swung upwardly when the shaft 13 is rotated in one direction and will be swung downwardly or lowered when the shaft 13 is rotated in the opposite direction. The cooperating worm and gear elements at each side of the bed frame and which have been described in the foregoing will act as locking elements to eifectually hold the swinging head section in adjusted position so that such head section will not be accidentally displaced irrespective of the weight imposed upon such head section.

The shaft may be rotated through the agency of the cranks 19 which are posi- 'tioned at opposite sides of the bed frame 1. It is desirable that means operable by a person resting upon the bed to effect rotation of the shaft 13 should be provided. so that an invalid or patient reclining on the bed may adjust the position of the swinging head section as desired. tion provides the pulley 17 at each end of the shaft 13 as hereinbefore described and a cooperating pulley or sheave 30 for each of the pulleys 17, the pulleys or sheaves 3( being mounted upon horizontal ari'ns or stub-shafts 31 secured by rivets 32 or the like upon the side members 22 of the bed frame at corresponding points along the length of the latter. An endless cable or belt 33 is trained about each pair of pulleys 17'and 30, the respective belts or cables extending along opposite sides of the bed in position to be conveniently grasped and manipulated by a person resting upon the bed.

In the application of the device illustrated in Figure 4, a chair is shown as being equipped with the invention. The curved rack bar 2 1 is pivotally attached at one end, as at 50 to the lower end of a foot rest 51 which is swingingly supported upon the seat 52 of the chair at the forward end of the latter. The" rack bar 24: carries "a roller or'laterally, extending stud 53 at its upper end in engagement with a guide way defined'by a guiding and retaining bar 54: in conjunction with the'back face of a chair back 55' which is swingingly. attached at its lower end, as at 56 to theseat or body of the chair. I i

The guiding and retaining bar 54 has ofi'- set end portions attached to the chair-back so that the major portion of the guiding and'retaining bar will be in spaced parallel relation to the chair back and free sliding movement of the roller or stud 53 in contact Withthe guiding and retaining bar will be To this end, my invenknown manner to the rear legs or upright portions of the chair frame or body in position to support the worm gears 26 carried thereby for coaction with the curved rack bars 2 1. In Figure 1, I show only the elements of the device which are positioned at one side of the chair. However, it will be understood from the description of the embodiment of the invention applied to the bed frame that like elements of the device are arranged at opposite sides of the chair and that the shaft 13 extends transversely of the chair. One of the pulleys or sheaves 30 is arranged at each side of the chair, being mounted upon one of the horizontal arms or stub shafts 31 which is secured to the adjacent arm rest 56. The pulley or belt 33 at each side of the chair is trained about one of the pulleys 30 and the corresponding pulley 17 so that the shaft 13 may be rotated through the'agency of the belt or endless cable at each side of the chair to effect adjustment of the foot rest 51 and the chair back 55 in respect to the plane of the chair seat. It will be apparent that when the chair back is lowered the foot rest will be raised and vice versa so that the person supported by the chair may manipulate one or both of the cables or belts 33, to adapt the chair for supporting him in a more or less recumbent position, as desired.

If desired, the cranks 19 of the embodiment of the invention applied to the chair may be manipulated to effect rotation of the shaft 13 and consequent raising and lowering of the chair back and foot rest.

Obviously, my invention is susceptible of embodiment in forms other than that illustrated in the accompanying drawings and I therefore consider as my own all modificadevice herein disclosed which fairly fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim 1. In a device of the character described, a holder attachable to a stationary support, said holder comprising a base provided at one end with a pair of upstandingspaced flanges and at its other end with an upstanding stud, said base having a guide slot formed therethrough to extend diametrically of the stud, a shaft journaled in said flanges, a worm carried by said shaft and adapted to rotate between said flanges, a worm gear having a threaded bore loosely receiving said stud and having teeth on its outer periphery in engagement with said worm, and a rack bar extending slidably through said guide slot and having teeth in one edge thereof in engagement with the threads on the bore of said gear, said rack bar being adapted at one end for attachment to a swingingly supported member whereby rotation of the worm will occasion swinging movement of said swingingly supported member.

2. In a bed, chair or like article, thecombination with a fixed frame and a section swingingly supported on the fixed frame of a base plate secured to the fixed frame, said base plate being provided with a stud-like projection, said base plate having a guide slot extending therethrough and continuing through the stud-like projection the entire length'of the latter, a rack bar secured at one end to said swingable section and extending slidably through the slot in the stud-like projection and base plate, a worm gear having teeth on its outer periphery and also having a threaded bore loosely receiving said stud-like projection and engaging the teeth of the rack bar, and means for rotating the worm gear to effect swinging movement of said swingable section relatively to the fixed frame, as desired.

SAMUEL EDDVVAR-D STICKLE. 

